Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Back~round of the Invention
This invention relates to a shelf aid to assist a
store manager in keeping shelf goods properly positioned upon
the shelves and assist a customer in seeing and removing shelf
goods that may otherwise be out of sight or reach.
In grocery stores, particularly, there has been a
need for some type of shelf aid to bring objects that are dis-
posed near the back of the shelf forward to the front of the
shelf where they can be more readily seen and removed by the
customer
It has been suggested heretofore to provide resilient
means constantly biasing a series of ob~ects forwardly against
a front stop, whereby the first available object of the series
is always in view and readily removable at the front of the shelf.
Such devices, however, have not had sufficient biasing force to
m~ve heavier objects ~uch as canned goods on grocery shelves,
and fre~uently the objects in the series have become misaligned
causing a malfunctioning of the device.
Another suggestion has proposed mounting the series
of objects upon a movable strip of Mylar coiled at the forward
end to provide a handle and to take up the slack after each
successive object is drawn forward to a stop position. The
employment of Mylar coils at the front of each series of objects
on a shelf becomes unsightly and is not favored by customers
who must operate coils of various sizes.
Summary of the Invention
A pusher is provided behind each series of objects
upon a shelf, and side members retain the objects of a series
in alignment from front to back on the shelf and connect the
pusher to a handle at the front of the shelf and which can be
manuall~ pulled forward to pull the pusher for~7ard and theFeby
d~
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move the series of objects forward until the front object of
the series engages a stop at the forward edge of the shelf.
After completion of the forward movement just described,
the handle is released and a resilient, elastic or springy
member attached to the pusher and to the rear of the shelf quickly
returns the pusher to its starting position and the handle to
the front of the shelf.
The side members are disposed at a height to effectively
retain the objects in alignment and prevent their tipping laterally.
The front stop is disposed at a height to prevent the
front object of the series from catapulting over the stop and fall-
ing to the floor in the event a customer pulls too rapidly upon ~he
handle. At the same time the construction of the front stop
should be such as not to obscure the label usually appearing on
1~ the front of the forwardmost object.
The pusher is retained against undue angular displace-
ment which might tend to bias the rear object laterally. For
this purpose the side members should be of equal length so that
a straight pull on the handle will always effect a straight pull
on the pusher.
Brief Description of the Drawinq
The accompanying drawings illustrate the best mode
presently contemplated for carrying out the invention.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a shelf
showing several series of different types of objects thereon
with the apparatus of the present invention in position for each
series;
FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the illustration of Fig. l;
FIG. 3 is a section taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 1 and
showing a series of objects in side elevation with the objects
spaced from the front of the shelf;
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FIG. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the pulling
of the handle forwardly until the front object engages the stop;
FIG. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the return
of the pusher and handle after the operation depicted in Fig. 4;
FIG. 6 is a detail perspective view illustrating a
different embodiment for the pusher and return mechanism; and
FIG. 7 is a similar detail view illustrating a third
embodiment.
Description of the Preferred Embodiments
The shelf aid illustrated in the drawings is shown as
applied to the shelf 1 of a grocery store or other retail outlet.
The shelf l has a smooth, flat, and preferably waxed
top surface for receiving separate side by side series of objects
2, 3 and 4 to be displayed for successive pick-up by customers.
The objects illustrated in series 2 are canned goods,
and the cans are disposed in alignment in a row from front to
back o the shelf with the cans filling the row leaving no vacant
space from front to back.
The ~bjects illustrated in series 3 are bottles of the
banjo shape customarily used for salad dressings, etc. arranged
similarly to the cans o series 2 but with the flat sides of the
bottles transverse to the series and pressing against each other;
There is a space ~ at the rear of series 3 indicating that after
withdrawal of two bottles from the series the attendant has drawn
the series forward to position the front bottle at the stop 6
where it is more visible to a customer
The objects illustrated in series 4 are packaged
materials with the packages of rectangular shape, and there is
shown in Fig. l a space 7 at the front of the series where one
package has been removed by a customer
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The stop 6 extends along the front edge of shelf 1
and rises above the shelf a sufficient height to properly stop
the objects when they are drawn forward into engagèment with it,
and prevent the objects from toppling over the stop. The stop 6
may b~ a rail, or it may be o~ transparent material so as not to
inter~ere with visibility of the labels on the front of the
objects. Also stop 6 may have incorporated therewith suitable
means for displaying price tags relative to the objects of.each
different series.
The mechanism for drawing a series of objects forward
after a front object has been removed comprises a pusher 8 dis-
posed at the rear of each series, side members 9 and 10 secured
to the pusher 8 and extending forwardly therefrom along opposite
sides of the series to a handle 11 disposed in front of stop 6.
The side members 9 and 10 should be at such a height
above the shelf as to stabilize the series of objects in align-
ment, and prevent lateral displacement of any object when the
series is being pushea forward by pusher 8.
The stop 6 is shown as a rail 12 spaced above shelf 1
at a height somewhat above the side mer~bers 9 and 10.
The side members 9 and 10 extend freely through the
space beneath the rail 12 of stop 6 and are guided against lateral
displacement by suitable spaced posts 13 supporting the rail 12.
The rail 12 is preferably removable from posts 13 to provide
ready access for assembling the various mechanisms required for
the many series of objects along a sect~on or length of the shelf.
The posts may be spaced sufficiently close to provide a
stop for handles 11 when they are retracted to the position
illustrated in Figs. 1-3.
When a customer advances along an aisle in a store and
desires to.look at. or take an object frorn a given series where the
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rront object of the series is spaced rearwardly from the front
of the shelf 1, as shown in Fig. 3, the customer grasps handle 11
and pulls it forwardly, thus pulling pusher 8 forwardly moving
the objects to the front until stopped by engagement with rail 12
of stop 6, as shown in Fig. 4. The customer then releases the
handle 11 and it is pulled back into engagement with posts 13
as shown in Fig. 5 by a return mechanism 14 associated with
pusher 8.
The pusher 8 and return mechanism 14 may have various
different constructions so long as they serve the purpose of per-
mitting pusher 8 to push a series of objects forwardly on a shelf
1 and then returning the pusher 8 to retracted position at the
rear of the shelf.
The mechanism 14 illustrated in Figs. 1-5 generally
comprises a mold convoluted self-recoiling roll 15 of Mylar
polyester ilm, as manuactured by E. I. du Pont de Nemo~lrs & Co.
o~ Wilmington, Delaware, a bracket 16 securing the free end of
the Mylar strip to the back edge of shelf 1 and spool means 17
mounting the coil between the rear ends of side members 9 and 10.
Further, in the construction illustrated in Figs. 1-5, the side
members 9 and 10 are secured to the spool 17 and the roll 15 is
free to wind and unwind on the spool.
In this construction the roll 15 serves to contact the
rear object in the series and to constitute the pusher 8 for moving
the series forward.
In the modification illustrated in Fig. 6, the self-
coiling roll 15 is mounted for free rotation on the axis of a
spool 18 which is supported on brackets 19 at the rear edge of
shelf 1. The free end of the Mylar strip of roll 15 is secured
to a transverse pusher plate or member 20 which in turn engages
the rear ob1ect Oc the series in moving the latter forward. In
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h; s embodiment the side members 9 and 10 are secured directly
to the opposite sides of pusher member 20.
The width of the Mylar strip, corresponaing to the
length of the roll 15 in both the embodiment of Figs. 1-5 and
the embodiment of Fig. 6 is preferably the same as the width of
~he objects in the ~iven series in order to assist in stabilizing
the pusher by the side members 9 and 10 in operation.
The Mylar strip needs very little force in merely
returning the pusher 8 and handle 11 to retracted position.
Consequently, it is possible to make the strip of a standard
narrow width for all installations by employing the general
construction of the Fig. 6 embodiment.
As shown in Fig. 7, this makes it possible to attach
the ree end of the Mylar strip 21 centrally to pusher member 22.
Additionally, the embodiment of Fig. 7 illustrates a
semi-cylindrlcal pusher membèr 22 adapted to substantially fit
ob~ects of a given diameter and less whereby the side members
and 1~ have better control in stabilizing the series against
possible lateral displacement forces.
The return mechanism 14 may employ any suitable resilient,
elastic or springy means for returning the pusher 8 to retracted
position. Applicant has found the self-coiling roll of Mylar to
be most suitable for this purpose when considering the distance
of movement, the substantially constant spring rate over the full
distance of movement, the spaces available, and a practical life
expectancy for an installation.
The return mechanism 14 should not place any substantial
load on pulling pusher 8 forwardly, and on the other hand, the
construction has a substantial advantage in always utilizing a
direct manual pull in overcoming any friction against forward
movement of the objects of a series. The return mechanism 14
is not involved in any such frictional problems.
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When a supermarket is equipped with the present
invention the side members 9 and 10 serve as guides for the
loading of objects and the filling of each series.
In the event it is desired to have the shelves present
a full appearance without taking the time to re-load, an attendant
need only walk along an aisle and pull the handles 11 for those
series of objects that need pulling forward, and his store will
immediately give the appearance of having the shelves full.
. The customer is also benefitted since a pull on handle
11 will bring objects forward where they can be better identified
and reached, and the front object can be removed for closer
inspection and then returned without any problem if the customer
does not choose to purchase it.
The side members 9 and 10 are preferably flexible and
constitute ténsion members in pulling the pusher 8 ~orwardly and
in returning the handle 11 and retaining it in retracted position
against stop 6.
